Arcade classics collection TAITO Milestones 3 will launch for Switch in November in Japan and this winter worldwide, publishers TAITO and ININ Games, and developer Hamster Corporation announced.
07.05.2024 - 14:47 / techcrunch.com / Shuntaro Furukawa / Nintendo
In the most anticlimactic way possible, Nintendo on Tuesday confirmed years of rumors: the Nintendo Switch 2 console is on the way.
“We will make an announcement about the successor to Nintendo Switch within this fiscal year,” wrote Shuntaro Furukawa, the president of Nintendo, on X.
This wasn’t the actual announcement of the console, mind. Rather, Furukawa wanted to warn users not to expect the actual announcement in next month’s Nintendo Direct livestream.
“We will be holding a Nintendo Direct this June regarding the Nintendo Switch software lineup for the latter half of 2024, but please be aware that there will be no mention of the Nintendo Switch successor during that presentation,” the post reads.
Nintendo’s fiscal year ends in March, which means we might have to wait until Spring 2025 to learn what’s next for the Switch, released nine years ago.
<p lang=«en» dir=«ltr» xml:lang=«en»>This is Furukawa, President of Nintendo. We will make an announcement about the successor to Nintendo Switch within this fiscal year. It will have been over nine years since we announced the existence of Nintendo Switch back in March 2015. We will be holding a Nintendo Direct…— 任天堂株式会社(企業広報・IR) (@NintendoCoLtd) May 7, 2024
Launched in 2015, the Nintendo Switch was a resounding success for the Japanese gaming company. To date, Nintendo has sold over 141 million units, making the Switch the third best-selling console of all time, trailing only behind the Nintendo DS and the PlayStation 2.
The Switch became so popular because it was the first commercially successful gaming hardware that could be played both as a handheld device and as a desktop console connected to an external display. The coincidental release of “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” at the beginning of global coronavirus lockdowns was also a boon for Nintendo. Between March and November 2020, Nintendo sold 12 million Switch consoles, which was a 73% increase compared to the same period a year earlier. The company even had to revise its financial forecast that year to be 50% higher than anticipated.
Nintendo’s sly announcement accompanied its quarterly earnings report. The company’s hardware sales declined 12.6% year-over-year, as is natural when its flagship console has been available for nearly a decade. Still, the Switch remains hugely popular, thanks to blockbuster exclusive titles like “ The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom ,” the long-awaited sequel to the classic “ Breath of the Wild .”
“Tears of the Kingdom” has sold 20.6 million copies over the last year, while “Super Mario Bros. Wonder” sold 13.44 million copies. Indie developers continue to push out games for the Switch, which players can download via the Nintendo eShop. That, and the fact that
Arcade classics collection TAITO Milestones 3 will launch for Switch in November in Japan and this winter worldwide, publishers TAITO and ININ Games, and developer Hamster Corporation announced.
The Monster Hunter release wheel is starting to turn again as Capcom prepares for the launch of Monster Hunter Wilds, confirmed to be here in 2025. Let's hope that's by this time next year and not closer to a holiday release. Other than dipping back into Monster Hunter World, there are other ways to keep your love of the series ticking over in the meantime. Especially now that its set of desktop figures is finally easy to find and buy in the US.
The board game adaptation of goliath manga and anime series Demon Slayer is coming to PS5 and PS4, after debuting meekly on Nintendo Switch last month. The title couldn’t top 20,000 sales in Japan during Golden Week, and so Sony subsidiary Aniplex will be hoping the CyberConnect2 title sells a little better on PlayStation platforms.
A prominent game leaker has revealed that Nintendo is developing a new unannounced game. The codename of the title is Banquet, and it is presumed to be a game for the Nintendo Switch 2. Just as important, while the game itself was not teased, the developers tasked with making it have teamed up to work on a key franchise in the past:
While here in the US the Nintendo Switch Online service got three new Mario games this week (yes, Alleyway is a Mario game), the update for Japan included a bonus classic you may not have heard of. Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru (officially translated as The Frog For Whom the Bell Tolls) was a Japanese Game Boy release, co-developed by the familiar tag-team of Nintendo R&D1 and Intelligent Systems, responsible for much of the Game Boy’s lineup. And while The Frog For Whom the Bell Tolls may not be a household name, if you’re a fan of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (and who isn’t?) you should take the time to play it.
Boys love visual novel The Town of Nie will launch for Switch and PC via Steam on September 19 worldwide, publisher dramatic create and developer √ZOMBILiCA announced. It will support Japanese audio, and English, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese text.
The Game Boy – Nintendo Switch Online app will add has added Alleyway, Baseball, and Super Mario Land, Nintendo announced.
Square Enix is set to make an unconfirmed number of layoffs as part of ongoing company restructuring, it told staff in an internal meeting on Monday, VGC understands.
Nintendo seems extremely serious about the security of the Nintendo Switch 2, going so far as to create a codename for the system's actual codename.
Tears of the Kingdom celebrates its first anniversary this weekend. A game so many of us spent such a massive amount of time with, it's hard to believe it has only been in our lives for a year. Its creators have already confirmed that it won't be getting any expansions, so don't go expecting a bombshell u-turn this weekend. There has been a Tears of the Kingdom birthday announcement, though. Nintendo has revealed it will be releasing a physical version of the sequel's soundtrack, a 464-page Master Works, and best of all, a replica of its Master Sword.
Nintendo has announced Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition for Switch. It will launch on July 18 for $29.99 via Nintendo eShop, and $59.99 as a “Deluxe Set” physical edition.
Japan's Nintendo said on Tuesday it plans to make an announcement about the successor to its long-lasting Switch console during the financial year ending March 2025.